Heartbeat
by minlake14
Summary: Aahliagh was on the run, and then Charles found her and brought her to the x-men. She has amazing mutant powers and wonderful naturally colourful hair. She helps the x-men, but finds someone of her own, after pretty much a lifetime of loneliness. She finally has a family. X-men:first class, but in the 21st century.
**A/N: New x-men fic I thought about over the weekend, and after help from becausei'mageek I thought what the heck and wrote it. It isn't au but just set now rather than in 1963 with the same events though, just different time. Hope it's good, thank you**

I had been running for about a year by the time I was sixteen, I hadn't been the counting the days or anything. When I left my home the only things I took were a change of clothes, a map and a bit of money. Still by then I could fit everything I owned in my old school rucksack, with my sleeping bag strapped to the top; I did have a laptop which I had to save money up for. But I could hack and make new credit cards, so In reality I did have money, but I simply couldn't risk coming out of hiding. I would simply just run around the country. Getting food from petrol stations along the way and camping out in forests or fields every night. Every so often I would pass a large town and I'd treat myself to a night in a hotel. It just became my life; I would just think all day and run. I didn't go to school, read the papers on my laptop, and then I'd go to sleep every night under the stars.

I blended in and no one ever really spoke to me, I had given up on trying to seek help a long time before this happened. I had powers, if you could call them that, basically I was weird. I had odd coloured hair, green, blue, purple and a little bit red, none of it dyed, I was born with it. I also had super strength, and I could see what people were feeling; to me I saw everyone with a coloured halo around them, they matched to feelings, like reading their aura or shakra. There was something else, something I couldn't explain or dare to think of. I couldn't explain any of it when I was sixteen, I saw myself as just bizarre, not a monster like my family, but just abnormal. I knew that there had to be other people who had powers like I did; I mean come on there are so many fantasy books and movies about it. Someone had to be like me; and yet after a year I hadn't found anyone and I'd given up. All I'd do was as I said, run, read, sleep, every day for a year. But luckily it finally changed.

I used to try and get food in the mornings, in little supermarkets or gas stations. On that day I had slept in a camping field on the outskirts of Indianapolis. I woke up around six-thirty, I didn't have a watch but It was January, and I always woke up when, or just after, the sun had risen. I quickly opened up my laptop, and used the Wi-Fi of a local house to go online. I checked up on the news, nothing much had happened. I sighed heavily before I shoved my laptop in my rucksack, put my sleeping bag into its case and strapped it to the top of my bag. I changed my top and started walking along the footpath to the town. I looked for the closest place to buy food for the day. I could see a high street through the street where I was standing but at about hundred meters out of the town I could see a garage, next to an entrance to a forest.

I immediately strapped my bag on tighter and walked along the path to the garage. It was quite early still and there weren't any cars stopped there, but I could see lights on in the shop, and an incredibly bored man sitting at the counter. I walked into the shop, a bell at the top of the door chimed, the guy at the counter glanced up dully, and he looked back down at the car magazine he was reading. I could see he was bored and tired out of his mind. I knew that I wouldn't be getting food till probably the next morning or the day after. The food at petrol stations was awful, but I had got used to the shitty sandwiches I had to buy every day. I picked up a questionably looking cheese and onion sandwich, and three packets of ready salted crisps.

I looked over at the door again when two people, a guy and a girl, walked into the store. They were whispering to each other and I assumed they were a couple from the way they were looking at each other. After a few moments I just went back to looking for food, I could still see in the corner of my eyes though that they were looking at me. My cheeks immediately went red and I felt odd as I took a few wispa bars off the shelf. The guy started walking down the aisle I was in, I felt like I was being watched as I grabbed a bottle of water, and shoved it in my basket.

I knew he was approaching he faster, I just dropped my stuff and run. I sprinted out of the store and into the forest; I knew he was running after me. I thought that he was the police, social services or something like that.

"Hey! Please wait! We know about you, what you can do!" He shouted after me, I didn't look back though and kept running.

"Please wait! We need to talk to you! I am like you! Please stop! We can help!" He yelled to me, I still didn't stop running though and just lept over a fallen branch. Then I heard a voice in my head. I stopped dead.

 _ **Please wait, we can help you. We know about you. Please just stop and walk over to me. I can help.**_

I turned back, and saw the man standing in the middle on the forest with two fingers pressed against his temple.

 _ **Please.**_

I knew he was a little worried, I wasn't quite sure why, and I could see that he wasn't really lying or anything and simply just wanted to help. I debated it for a few moments before I walked down to him, he looked relieved when he saw me walking towards him.

"Thank you. Now please firstly tell me your name," The man said, I hesitated for a moment.

"Aahliagh **(A/N: Her name is pronounced a-lee-ah)** ," I answered, still extremely worried that he was with the police, or social services.

"That's a lovely name, I am Charles and I'm here to help you," Charles said, he smiled, he actually looked really nice and friendly," Please I will take you back to America with Moira as well. And I will explain everything on the way."

"How did you talk to me in my head?" I asked still confused.

"I will explain on the plane. Come on," Charles said as he walked back to the garage. I followed for some reason, I wasn't quite sure but I trusted him. The other woman was standing by the forest entrance and looked a lot happier when she saw me, she was obviously Moira. He quickly nipped into the shop and brought me the food I'd had in the shopping basket. They then started walking to a black hire car, I followed them. Moira sat in the back with me and Charles drove. After a few minutes of silence Charles started talking,

"The reason I could speak to you in your head is because I am a telepath. I can read people's minds, and no I'm not reading your mind right now. I try and not do it without asking their permission first. But anyway I can put walls up, send messages and stuff in people's minds. The reason I can do this is because I am a mutant. I have a genetic mutation that means I am a telepath. And you are too. I know you can do things, but what exactly?" Charles asked when we reached the motorway, and I realised we were driving up to the airport. I hadn't been on a plane before though.

"I have umm…super strength… and umm…I can read people's feelings, like auras, I see colours and they correspond to colours," I said awkwardly, I left the other thing, and hoped I'd never have to talk about it.

"That's awesome," Charles said, he just talked to Moira for the remainder of the journey. Moira did talk to me as well, she seemed really nice, but Charles hadn't said anything about her having a mutation, I didn't think she did really but she still looked important in something, I wasn't sure what.

We finally reached the airport, it was amazing, to me, it was huge. When we reached the lobby I just stopped and looked around, amazed. Charles grinned when he saw me marvel at the airport. They waited for me and then Charles printed out our tickets, and after waiting around, going through security we finally boarded the plane.

I was equally excited and nervous when we lifted off the ground, and doing a poor job of showing it. They'd both let me sit in the window seat, and I could see them smiling at me when I stared out of the window, and looked down at the tiny city below.

"Where are we going then?" I asked after around an hour.

"Well we are going to the CIA base first. But soon we are going to have to move I think. I should have explained earlier but I couldn't so I'll say now. Back there I have more mutants like you, with different powers. We are trying to fight this guy called Shaw. And we need your help. When we get there after I have introduced you to everyone else, we will train you. Into a fighter. If you don't want to help you don't have to, but I will help you anyway. You are still young Aahliagh," Charles said, I was silent for a few minutes, thinking about what he'd just said.

"No I'll help, and I'm sixteen not six," I said, Charles looked concerned for a moment before he relaxed.

"You don't have to, but thank you. If you don't mind me asking but, why were you running? And how long have you been running?" He asked, I felt awkward for a moment before deciding what to answer.

"Umm…I don't really want to talk about why, but I haven't been home for a year. I got on fine though, I'm okay," I answered, Charles and Moira both looked pitiful for a minute, I reassured them I was fine, they agreed but still brought me a large lunch when the trolley went past. I got bored of looking out the window about half an hour later so I just started watching movies on the screen on the seat in front. I supressed my joy when I realised the seats did this; I could still see Charles and Moira giggling though.

Other than that the plane ride was pretty uneventful, but I was still so excited and disappointed when we got off at the airport. We got through pretty quickly, I obviously hadn't got a passport but like we did on the way through Moira used a CIA pass to let us through. We then took a taxi out of the city, and passed through loads of fields till we reached this huge building in the middle of nowhere. We stepped out of the car, I stopped equally worried and excited.

"It's going to be fine Aahliagh. Come on I'll show you to your room," Charles said as he walked into the building.


End file.
